David "Kay" Eldridge's Obituary
David Kay Eldridge, 81 of Decatur, Illinois died Tuesday May 31, 2016 in Decatur Memorial Hospital, Decatur, IL.
Kay was born in Oklahoma City, OK on September 28, 1934 the son of Raymond Eldridge Sr. and Vernice Hopper Eldridge. Kay graduated from Bradley University in 1956 with a degree in Business. He married Patricia Ann Prazak of Chicago, IL on October 19, 1956 they had 3 children. On December 5, 1981, Kay married Eileen Dowd Huston, who preceded him in death in December 2013.
Kay Eldridge was the President and Co-founder of K’s Merchandise. Kay and his father Raymond Eldridge, Sr. started K’s Merchandise in 1957. At a later date, Kay’s brother, Ray Eldridge Jr., joined the family business. The original K’s location was on Main Street in downtown Decatur, IL, which was destroyed by fire in 1968. K’s reopened at 363 N. Water Street on the Landmark Mall, then years later expanded across the mall creating the K’s Annex location. In the mid 1990’s, the Decatur K’s Merchandise store relocated to the Northgate Mall on Pershing Road. K’s Merchandise successfully grew into a 17 store privately-owned catalog showroom chain located throughout Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri. In 1986, Kay expanded the jewelry portion of the business into 10 jewelry stores, Eldridge Fine Jewelry, which were located in Missouri, Kansas and Florida.
Kay’s entrepreneurial spirit continued throughout his everyday life. He took great pride in teaching and developing employees, many have gone on to develop successful careers from his teachings and have returned to thank him.
Surviving are his daughter, Patricia Eldridge-Sammons and her significant other Joe Walker of Mt. Zion; grandchildren, Brandon and Alexa Sammons, Quinton and Alli Eldridge all of Mt. Zion, IL; brother Ray Eldridge, Jr.(Una Mae) and nieces all of Decatur.
Kay was preceded in death by: daughter Elizabeth Ann Eldridge, son David Christopher Eldridge, grandson Nicholas Christopher Eldridge, and wife Eileen Eldridge.
Special thanks to Kristi Lane, Craig Hite, Eric Hite and Danny Foster for their help and support of Kay through his difficult illness.
Visitation will be 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Sunday June 5, 2016 at Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m., Monday, June 6, 2016 at Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home, with burial to follow at Graceland Cemetery, Decatur, IL. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to the following organizations: STARR 3180 S. Mt. Zion Rd. 62521, National Rifle Association (NRA) nrafoundation.org, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society lla.org, or Maranatha Assembly of God Decatur, Illinois.
The family of David Kay Eldridge is being served by the Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home, 2091 N. Oakland Ave. Decatur, IL. Please view the online obituary, send condolences, and share memories at www.gracelandfairlawn.com.
What’s your fondest memory of David?
What’s a lesson you learned from David?
Share a story where David's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with David you’ll never forget.
How did David make you smile?